Arousal Effects of Aggressive Film Content as a Function of Viewing Medium.

Norwood, Don J.

Sixteen college students were measured for "skin conductance responses" (SCR) while they viewed four films on either a movie or a television screen in a study of selected media differences between theatrical film and television viewing. The students watched a bland (nonaggressive) and an aggressive film on one medium, then viewed two similar films on the other medium, providing self-reports of their responses by completing "Mood Adjective Check Lists." Although the researchers hypothesized that theatrical film viewers would show greater arousal for aggressive films and less arousal for bland films than television viewers, SCR data show greater arousal for film viewing only during scenes depicting violent death. Researchers find no substantial support for a general media effect of viewer arousal, but they note that different types of aggressive film content create different arousal levels and that uninteresting film content produces "sub-resting" SCR levels. (RL)